Nearly a quarter of customers now struggle with water bills

More water customers are struggling to pay their water bills, according the the latest wave of cost of living research from Ofwat.

The latest survey of over 2,000 customers carried out in March 2023 by Savanta found nearly one in four (23%) bill payers are currently struggling to pay their water bill, up from 20% in wave two (Oct 2022) and 15% in wave one (March 2022).

Awareness that financial help is available from water companies stayed steady at around 30% over the year. 7% reported receiving financial support; 15% for those who reported struggling ‘all the time’ with household bills.

Looking at household bills more widely, the findings included:

the percentage of bill payers who had "never" struggled to pay a household bill in the past year fell from 45% in 2021 to 25%;

56% struggled to pay frequently over the past year;

78% of the under-35s reported struggling; and

70% of those who have a long-term illness, a health problem or disability, or live with someone who does, reported struggling to pay a bill "sometimes" or more often.

Senior director of corporate communications at Ofwat, Claire Forbes, said: “Today's research shows that support for customers struggling financially is still not reaching those who need it the most. There has been some good progress from water companies in this area, but now is not the time for complacency; when Ofwat sees poor performance from water companies in this area we will not hesitate to act.” Ofwat is consulting on a new customer-focused licence condition.

Senior leader for social policy at CCW, Andy White, said: “It’s deeply concerning to see a growing number of people struggling to afford household bills…Existing support is of little help to those struggling to pay their bills if they don’t even know it exists and that’s why water companies must strive to raise awareness of financial assistance.

“We also need the sector to commit to a comprehensive baseline of financial support for households that cannot afford their water bill. The current support provided through the postcode lottery of existing social tariff schemes is unsustainable and risks seeing thousands more people slip into water poverty.”